A/N - Hello, and welcome to my new time travel au. This story is inspired by a 1979 film "The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan". I hope you enjoy the story
Marinette looked over the new house with pride. It was going to take a bit of work to fix up, but it was exactly the kind of house she had always wanted, a nice cottage just outside the city and away from the day to day rat race that was Paris.
"I think I'll need to cut a new vinyl just to pay for the renovations." Luka chuckled, draping his arm around his fiancée's shoulders. "Or at least two more tours."
Marientte grimaced slightly, but then smiled as she looked at the house and shrugged her shoulders. "It will be worth it." She mused. "A new coat of paint and it will look brand new."
"I'm sure it will once you give it your magic creative touch. I have faith in you." Luka said, kissing her on the back of her head. "Maybe Rose and Juleka can pitch in and help you with it."
Marinette's heart sank. "You… you're not going to be here? This is your house too Luka, I thought we could work on it together. You not long got back from your last tour."
"That was only a promo tour." Luka dropped his arm from her shoulder and walked over to the for sale sign emblazoned with a bright red "SOLD" sticker. He pulled the sign out of the ground and looked back at Marinette with sad eyes.
"Mari you know I'm contracted to a national tour to sell the new album once we finish it and I promised my father I would join him in London this year for the Royal benefit concert. Plus I need to pay for this place. It was a little out of our budget afterall."
Marinette wrapped an arm around herself. "Yeah, I know, but you've hardly taken a break in the last two years."
Luka put the sign down on the ground and came over to her, wrapping her up in his arms and cradling her head to his chest. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I know I haven't been around as much as I would like. I hate having to leave you on your own all the time, but I never expected that first single to be such a huge hit." He pulled back a little and cupped her face in his hands. "I wrote it for you, not to become famous, but I'm riding a wave I can't just jump off from right now. After we cut the album and finish the national tour I'm going to ask Bob Roth for some time out, I promise. In the meantime I know you'll make this place a home I'll look forward to coming back to, right?"
He gave her a soft kiss before taking her hand and letting her lead him into the house. The real estate agent wasn't kidding when she said it was old world, but Marinette could see the hidden treasure beneath the weather-beaten exterior and dust-covered furniture. It was old world, and she was an old world kind of girl.
Luka and Marinette opened the windows to let the rooms air out before pulling off some of the dust covers. Luka began to cough from the dust. "Wow, how long has this place been empty?"
"A long time apparently." Marinette said, picking up a photo frame that had fallen on the floor. "Luka, look at this."
Luka folded up the dust cloth he was holding and resting his chin over her shoulder. The picture looked hand painted of a black cat with piercing green eyes. Rubbing the dusty glass, there was an artist signature at the bottom. "N. Kurtzburg." Marinette read. "I don't think I've ever heard of them, although the realtor did refer to the house as the artist's cottage."
"I guess this must have been the artist." Luka mused. "Maybe someone in town might know something about it." He took the picture from her hand and turned it over. "Plagg 1899. What kind of name is that for a cat?"
Marinette took the photo back and chuckled. "I think it's cute." She said, placing the photo on the coffee table. The picture was in remarkable condition for something that was 76 years old. "I wonder what other treasures I might find hidden around the…"
"Knock, knock."
Luka and Marinette both turned to find a young woman with blond hair carrying an umbrella. Marinette immediately walked over to her, shaking her hand and inviting her in. "Luka, this is Aurore, she's the real estate agent that sold us the house."
Aurore held out her hand for Luka to shake. "Aurore Beauréal, pleased to meet you." She said, then she squinted her eyes slightly. "Do I know you from somewhere? Your face looks awfully familiar."
Luke raised an eyebrow at her. "Ahhh, I don't recall having metbefore. Marinette handled most of the house purchase. I'm Luka Couffaine, nice to meet you."
Aurora's face suddenly went bright red as she pressed her palms into her cheeks. Marinette took two steps back and Luka shifted uncomfortably. They had been through this all before.
"Oh my god." Aurore gasped. "I was a huge fan of Kitty Section when I was in high school."
Luka tucked some of his hair behind his ear nervously. "Yeah, we did a lot of gigs back in the day. My sister and her girlfriend still do a lot of the club scene with the old band."
As Aurore continued to gush about her high school crush on Luka and sneaking out at night to see his shows, Marinette slipped out into the kitchen. It wasn't like this was the first time a fangirl had done this, but it was still something Marinette was trying to get used to, especially after Luka's solo hit topped the charts.
Resting her hands against the counter top, Marinette looked down at the square cut engagement ring on her finger. Luka had proposed the day he left for his first solo tour. That was two years ago now, and she still was reluctant to set a date. Marinette hoped that now they had a house of their own and the future was looking more secure, perhaps they might be ready to make that final commitment. Maybe she would be ready to.
"Here you are." Luka said cheerfully as he entered the kitchen. "That was awkward."
Marinette plastered a smile on her face and turned around. "Has she gone?"
"Yeah, she actually came to drop off this key. Apparently it opens the door to the attic. Do you want me to have a look at it?"
Marinette shook her head. "I'll leave that room for later. I think I might turn it into my sewing room, that way my Singer won't keep you awake at night. For now let's get started in the kitchen so I can at least make some dinner later."
A few days later Luka left to go record in Paris, leaving Marinette to continue cleaning and unpacking the house. With "Jive Talkin'" and "Lady Marmalade" blaring on the radio, Marinette tied an apron around her waist and set to work cleaning down all the windows and walls. Tying her hair up in a bandana, she was elbow deep in dirty water when Luka's sister Juleka turned up on her doorstep, head to toe in black leather with a motorbike helmet tucked under her arm.
"Juleka! How wonderful to see you. I didn't know you were back."
"I would have called if the phone was connected. Still a bit of work to do, huh?" She said, resting her helmet on a chair and looking around. "It's looking good though. Mind if I change the station? Disco isn't really my jam."
"Go ahead. I wasn't really listening to it anyway." Marinette nodded, running the back of her hand across her forehead while Juleka found a station playing Queen. "I think I've cleared up most of the lower part of the house. I still have a bit to do before I finish the bedroom upstairs and I haven't even gotten near the attic yet. Is Rose not with you?"
"Nah, she caught a cold. Stupid English weather."
The two chatted about Juleka and Rose's recent trip to London as Marinette finished washing down the windows. Making herself a cup of tea, Juleka told her about how they had discovered what was being referred to by the locals as the punk scene. Juleka wasn't just into the music, but the whole culture around it, showing off her new purple streak in her hair and the new chains she was wearing for bracelets. Rose was excited to incorporate some of the new sound into Kitty Section too and their drummer Ivan was also on board, but Juleka was keen for her big brother's opinion on some of their new material before they recorded a new demo.
"I gather Luka's in Paris at the moment?" Juleka asked, although the look on Marinette's face told her what she already knew and she let out a little huff. "He's such a workaholic."
"Bob Roth sent word that he needed to work on the new album or he was going to accuse him of breach of contract." Marinette replied with an eye roll. "Didn't he tell you?"
Juleka shrugged. "We changed hotels a few times so if he left a message we would have missed it. I'll call him at the studio later." She then spied the picture of Plagg on the table and picked it up. "Cool painting. Kurtzburg… was this his place or something?"
Marinette took off her cleaning gloves and wiped her hands on her apron. "I don't know." She admitted. "The real estate agent said the place had stood empty for many years but not much else."
Juleka regarded the room again. Marinette had cleaned down the antique display cabinet, but was yet to put much in there. "Maybe the place is haunted."
Marinette let out a laugh. "Oh Juleka."
"I'm serious. Rose has been reading all about this new age stuff with crystals and…"
"Jules… seriously?"
"No, like you can hang them and ward off evil spirits and stuff. I mean, if the place has been empty for so long it could be that someone died here or something. Who knows what weird shit could be hanging around." She then pointed at the picture of Plagg suspiciously. "Black cat and all that if you catch my drift."
Marinette shook her head. "I don't believe in magic or voodoo or crystals." She emphasised with a chuckle, taking the picture back from her. "But, I am curious about the artist and what connection he has to this place. Oh that reminds me, I forgot to buy a small tin of paint for the outdoor window frames."
Juleka stood up, flicking her dark hair behind her. "Well, my ride is outside. I don't mind taking you into town. Bring the picture with you and we can ask about it. Seriously though, wouldn't you have found something out about the place before you bought it?"
Marinette looked away from Juleka and chewed on her bottom lip. "Would you believe me if I said that something drew me to this place? I must have gone to a dozen houses, nice houses too, but the day the agent brought me here and I stepped through those doors, I felt I was meant to live here… like I was home."
Juleka raised a sceptical eyebrow at her. "I thought you said you didn't believe in spiritual stuff."
Marinette shrugged her shoulders. "I said I didn't believe in magic, but this was different. It's like… I don't know how to explain it but, it's like I'd been here before, even though I knew I couldn't have."
"Did you tell Luka that?"
"Yeah, he just laughed and said I'd always been an old world kind of girl and it's an old world kind of house. I guess he's right."
"Well the place is definitely vintage, I'll give you that. Kind of reminds me of those dresses you were showing me the last time I saw you. Are you still working on those?"
Marientte's lips curled up into a smile. "I found the most amazing vintage pattern the other week. I need to get into that attic so I can set up my sewing machine and finish it off." Then her eyes lit up. "Actually, I saw there was an antiques store in town too. Maybe we could check it out while we're there. I'd like to find some trinkets for the display cabinet."
After taking off her apron and fixing her hair, Marinette shoved the Plagg picture into her bag and followed Juleka out to her motorbike. "Wow." She exclaimed. "That's nice."
"Thanks." Juleka grinned. "It's a Harley I bought off an American expat. You should have seen Luka's face when I showed it to him before we went to London. Here, you can borrow Rose's helmet."
Taking the helmet out of the storage compartment, Marinette wasn't at all surprised to find Rose's helmet was pink with bright yellow daisy decals while Juleka's was midnight black with purple accents and a vibrant purple Tiger face on the back to match her jacket.
Gripping on for dear life, Marinette was grateful it was only a short trip into the main town. To be honest, the town was quite large, but after having spent most of her life in central Paris, the quieter country life was much more Marinette's pace.
Parking the bike, Juleka left to find a pay phone while Marinette walked across the street to the hardware store. Having bought a tin of sky blue paint to complement the weatherboard exteriors of the house, Marinette made her way towards Fu's Antiques Emporium. Pushing open the wooden door, a little bell chimed as Marinette entered into the shop. It was larger than it appeared from the outside and smelled of musky wood and old books.
"Hello." A voice said from the far end of the store. Marinette walked around a rocking chair and an alabaster lamp stand with the too large shade to find the source of the voice was a short Chinese man wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt. "Come in, come in. I don't believe we have met before." The man smiled, holding out his hand to her. "Wang Fu at your service."
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She smiled, taking his hand and shaking it. He had quite a grip for a man that appeared to have been of advanced years.
"Cheng? Your mother was from the old country?"
"Yes. My Uncle still resides in Shanghai, although I haven't seen him since I was a little girl."
"Indeed." Fu said, stroking his beard. "I have not been back there for many years myself. And your parents reside in Paris?"
Marinette lowered her eyes down. "They passed away some years ago now, but yes, we did live in Paris."
Fu nodded with understanding eyes. "I see. Well, how may I help you today?"
Marinette opened up her bag and pulled out the picture of the black cat, showing it to Fu. "Do you know anything about the artist that painted this? I just recently moved to the cottage just outside of town and found it among the possessions left there."
Fu took the picture, regarding it silently for a few moments. "You mean the old Agreste cottage?"
"Agreste?" Marinette queried with furrowed brows.
Fu looked at her surprised. "You have not heard of the name?" Marinette shook her head. "Hmmm" He hummed to himself before he continued. "I may not be the best person to ask in this case. You see I have not lived here more than a few years myself, but if you go up to town hall, there is a lovely lady there by the name of Miss Bustier. She is somewhat of a town historian and I'm sure she could tell you more about the house and the young man who painted this picture."
Marinette looked at Fu curiously as he handed the painting back to her. Somehow she had a feeling he knew a lot more than he was letting on. "Thank you. I'll be sure to go and see her." She said, tucking the picture back into her bag. "I hope we get to speak again."
"I am certain of it." Fu said with a cryptic smile. "And if you find anything else of interest, be sure to bring it to me and I will appraise it for you."
Marinette couldn't help feeling a little perplexed as she left the store. How did Fu know it was a young man that was the artist, and who were the Agreste's? Her swirling thoughts were interrupted by Juleka calling out to her from across the road. Marinette waved at her and ducked between the cars to cross over the road.
"I talked to Luka. He said to let you know he'll be home for the weekend. Did you find out anything?"
Marinette pointed up the street to where an older building stood. "He suggested a woman at town hall might know more."
Juleka looked down at her watch and shook her head, suggesting it was probably too late in the afternoon to go there now. Reluctantly Marinette agreed, heading back to Juleka's bike for the short ride home.
After farewelling Juleka, Marinette settled herself in for the night. She had big plans to finish sorting out the bedroom, hoping to have most of the house completed before Luka came back. Taking out the cat painting, she opened the display cabinet and sat the frame inside, closing the glass doors carefully.
~~~~~
When Luka arrived late afternoon on the Saturday, he scooped Marinette up in his arms, kissing her fervently as he swung her around, not caring for the wet paintbrush in her hand.
"I'm glad to see you too." Marinette laughed breathlessly. "I gather your recording sessions went well."
"Marinette, it was amazing." He beamed, putting her down so she could clean up. "We were completely in the zone, and the music was flowing… I tell you it's like nothing else in the world when it all comes together like that. I could practically feel the music in my bones. Roth even thinks we could have a shot at the American markets if we choose the right single."
"I'm so happy for you Luka." Marinette smiled with genuine happiness and pride. "I'll cook something special for dinner to celebrate."
"Let's go out for dinner." Luka suggested, grasping her hand. "I've hardly seen you lately, and you've been working so hard on the house. I saw a nice little restaurant in town as I was passing through, let me pamper you tonight."
When they arrived at the restaurant, Luka sat beside Marinette in a little booth seat in the corner, holding her hand under the table. This was nice, Marinette thought, just the two of them out and having a meal together. It reminded her of the early days after her parents died and Luka had been there to support her, making sure she ate, that she had enough sleep and that she remembered to take care of herself. She didn't know what she would have done without him then. He was only two years older than her, but he seemed so wise and Marinette looked up to him and admired him a great deal.
"I saw there is a lake near the house." Luka said after the waiter took their order. "Might be nice to have a picnic there tomorrow."
"That would be lovely." Marinette smiled. "Do you remember, Luka, when on weekends we would drive in the Combi with the rest of Kitty Section playing gigs in pubs and clubs and eating late night pizza and getting home at dawn." Marinette said with a sound of nostalgia.
"Yeah, those were good times." Luka chuckled, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "Remember that night when we broke down on the way back from Le Mans? Ivan's snoring kept waking us up all night."
Marinette nodded her head. It had been two years after her parents had passed and she had been living with Luka and Juleka at their mother's house boat. It was just after her 19th birthday when they had piled into the Combi with Juleka, Rose and Ivan for Kitty Section to perform at the famous Le Mans car race. Well, they weren't playing at the race per se, more at the markets nearby. Still, it had been a lot of fun until they broke down on the side of the road with a flat tire in the middle of the night.
In the early hours of that morning Luka had taken Marinette by the hand down to a nearby lake to watch the sunrise. That was the first time Luka had kissed her, strong and confident. It was the first time anyone had kissed her, and in her naive experience of love it felt like the most romantic moment of her life. Luka could have had any girl he wanted, even then, but he told her he loved her, that she was the melody he couldn't get out of his head and she was drawn in by him.
Marinette realised she had tuned out from what Luka was saying. He had been talking about his new album as they ate when a voice intruded upon them.
"Luka, my man!"
Marinette swung her head around at the intrusive voice to find XY grasping Luka's hand.
"Xavier, I didn't expect to see you out this way."
"Just out here to chase up a new squeeze if you know what I mean." He winked. Luka simply raised an eyebrow at him. "Heard from the old man you've been recording, he thinks it's promising."
"Fingers crossed." Luka replied before turning to Marinette. "You remember my fiancée, Marinette?"
XY casually waved at her. Marinette wasn't much of a fan of XY or his music, but he was Bob Roth's son which meant they had to play nice with him.
"Fiancée, right…" XY drawled. "Fangirls aren't gonna like that when they find out."
Marinette shifted uncomfortably and Luka frowned at him. "Well they're just going to have to get used to it now aren't they?" He scowled. XY just shrugged.
"It's your career dude. Girls cloud the mind."
"So what are you doing here again?"
XY laughed. "Never said I was celibate Couffaine, I just don't tie strings to myself. See you in the studio next week."
XY waved nonchalantly over his shoulder as he walked over to the bar leaving a bewildered Marinette and frustrated Luka. One day he would really like to give XY a piece of his mind. Looking over to Marinette and seeing the pained look on her face, Luka took her hand once again under the table and smiled at her. "Don't listen to him." He tried to reassure her. "I'm not interested in groupies or being a sex symbol like he wants to be. You're the only woman for me, Marinette, I promise."
Marinette already knew that. When he toured last year, she never doubted his fidelity to her, or believed the tabloid stories about the girls that tried to throw themselves at him. Luka wasn't like that. He was safe, predictable, dependable. Leaving money to pay the bill, Luka took her hand and led Marinette back to the car.
"Luka?" She said softly. "What you said before. I know you don't take the fangirls seriously, but I don't want to hold you back either. Music has always been your dream and…"
Luka placed a finger over her lips and kissed her forehead. "You're not holding me back, Marinette. I love knowing that no matter how long I'm gone for, or how far away I go, I can come home and you will be there waiting for me. I've missed you this last week. I've missed you so much."
Luka wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a searing kiss. The wind picked up around them and Marinette felt a few drops of rain land on her face. "Come on, let's go home."
~~~~~
It was around 3am when a noise woke Marinette up from her sleep. She sat up and could hear the rain pouring down in earnest outside. Looking beside her, Luka was still sleeping soundly, his long teal tipped hair splayed across the pillow and the sheet barely covering his toned abs. He was 25 and gorgeous and no doubt the stuff of many a girls' fantasies, so why did Marinette feel so hollow inside? Luka loved her, she didn't doubt that, and she cared for him deeply, but everytime they made love it was like something was missing. It didn't feel like what she read in books, or even the words that Luka sang in his songs. It was love she felt in her bones like he did his music. She knew it was selfish, so selfish to want more than she already had.
Marinette slipped out of the bed, sliding on her slippers and putting on her light robe before tiptoeing her way out to the kitchen. Pouring herself a glass of water she wondered if she was the problem. Marinette cast her eyes on the wooden rolling pin on the counter and her memories drifted back to how her parents would laugh and tease each other as they baked. Tom would chase Sabine around the counter as her mama would throw flour at him until he caught up to her, smothering kisses over her giggling face. They were so happy in love with each other, even after almost 20 years. She wanted that. More than anything she wanted a love like they had.
Hearing a banging noise again, Marinette finished her glass of water and ascended the stairs past where Luka was still snoring and towards the attic door. Taking the key from the hook, she turned it a bit stiffly in the lock before the door opened. Flicking the light switch, a dim light gave her enough to see to ascend a narrow staircase to a small room above. Marinette made a mental note to buy a new lightbulb.
The room had a slanted roof, with a single bed against one wall and a bureau desk against the other. The bureau was covered in paint splatter and long dried up paint bottles and palettes with an easel still standing next to them. Marinette soon found the source of the noise where the latch on one of the windows had broken, spatters of rain sneaking through to the floorboards. Searching around a box of bric-a-brac, she found a string that would secure the window enough until she could get a new latch.
In one of the corners of the room, an object was covered with a large dust cloth next to the bed. Feeling curious, despite the late hour, Marinette pulled off the cloth to find a clothes bust with a beautiful vintage cream lace dress. It was clearly a turn of the century design with its floor length skirt and high neck and long sleeves.
Turning the bust around, Marinette found a tear where the sleeve had become separated. An easy fix she mused, wondering if the dress would fit her. She started to undo the buttons when she became aware of a ticking sound. Stopping what she was doing, Marinette listened and discovered the ticking came from inside a pocket on the dress.
Sitting on the edge of the bed she regarded the pocket watch she had found. The silver was etched in an intricate design and looked almost brand new, which struck Marinette as unusual considering how long it had been in here for. Opening the watch, Marinette was blinded by a bright light, before finding herself in a place that looked familiar, yet different.
Marinette blinked her eyes as she looked around the room. It was still the same attic, she was sure of that, but it looked more lived in somehow, the only sound was the ticking of the watch. Standing up slowly, the pocket watch still in her hand, Marinette walked over to see a beautiful picture on the easel of the nearby lake she had briefly seen from Juleka's motorbike. On the bureau she touched the paint palette that sat there. The paint was wet. Wiping her finger on a rag she noted a men's coat handing over a coat stand and a small leather suitcase on the floor. Marinette was about to have a closer look when she heard voices calling out and running coming from downstairs.
"No, no, dear god no." Cried out a man.
"Wait." Called another.
"Kagami! Kagami!"
"She's gone." A third voice added.
"No, she can't be. Please no Kagami wake up. Don't leave me. Kagami, please." The crying man wailed.
"We need to take her up to the main house. Nate, can you help him, I'll carry her." The third voice spoke again.
Marinette wasn't sure what it was she was hearing, but her heart ached for the young man that sounded so heartbroken. Sitting back on the end of the bed, she regarded the pocket watch in her hand. Opening it she was once again blinded by a bright light, the force causing her to fall back onto the bed.
